‘Chopped Champions’ crowns the grand champion on Food Network

Tonight's "Chopped Champions" presented the grand finale round in a series of five competitions to find the sole survivor from past champions of "Chopped" episodes. Only one will earn the title and stand proudly among the "Chopped Champions." The winner will receive $50,000, but they must survive all three rounds of this competition against the winners of the other three competitions of past winners.

The judges for this episode are; Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian, and the host, as always is Ted Allen.

The competitors are; Vinson Petrillo, Rob Evans, Kenneth Johnson and Jun Tanaka.

The first round appetizer mystery box contained; Pig Ears, Ramps, Pine Nuts and Apple Strudel. Jun made pine nut crusted pig ears with fried ramps and pickled apples using eggs, panko and vinegar. Rob made crispy pig ears with pickled ramp stems and ramp sauce using vinegar and olive oil. Vinson made crispy pig ears with grilled ramp pesto and pickled onions using vinegar, olive oil and red onion. Kenneth made crispy pig ears salad with apple strudel croutons using arugula, radicchio and red apple. The first chef to be eliminated was Kenneth whose presentation did not meet the expectations of the judges for a grand champion.

For the second and entree round the mystery box contained; Abalone, Curry Leaves, Serrano Ham and Amaranth Grain. Vinson made abalone two ways; fried and sunomono using celery, soy sauce and heavy cream. Jun made abalone & shiitake mushroom and noodle broth with poached egg using chicken stock, lemongrass and dashi. Rob made abalone scaloppini with curry leaf egg sauce using eggs and button mushrooms. Vinson was "Chopped," because the judges felt that his entree did not come together in harmony.

The next round was the dessert box with; Carrot Juice, Almond Flour, Candied Ginger and Honeycomb. Jun made carrot & ginger frangipane pudding with carrot sauce using powdered sugar, butter and eggs. Rob made cinnamon French toast with carrot & orange gelee using cardamom, oranges, gelatin and agar. The chef who brought home the $50,000, and the title among the "Chopped Champions" was Jun Tanaka, who will be opening his restaurant with the help of the prize money.